Database development is a relatively new technology dating back to around the 1960's. In 1976, the concept of entity-relationship diagramming and data modeling was developed. One function of data models is to design the structures of databases such as database tables and database columns. By the late 1980's, specialized databases, referred to as data warehouses, where being designed for the purpose of optimizing report generation. The data warehouse database uses data redundancy and data aggregation to improve data retrieval speed.
Alternative data model development methods have since been developed that are variations of the entity-relationship diagrams. These alternative data model development methods are also computer based software applications that include the Unified Modeling Language method and the Object-Oriented Data Modeling method. Also, some vendors supply skeletal data models stored in computer memory that are incomplete data models usually specific to certain industries. The purchased skeletal data models are then completed in computer memory where more specific data requirements are implemented.